Top Ten Tuesday: 10 short reviews

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors (Share books from your to-read list that are written by authors you’ve never read before.)

I am going rogue today (again!) and sharing one to two sentence short reviews of books I have been meaning to review that I have read so far  this year but not yet done so!

The Goldsmith's Wife by Jean Plaidy - Read this for the Childhood Favourite theme at my F2F book club. It's been years since I read a Plaidy but it was still so good! And a really interesting story about Jane Shore, a woman who was the mistress of a king and yet ended her life in poverty. Read this for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (5/5 read)

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - This book is set in 1930s US and Canada, and tells the story of a young indigenous girl who disappears one day while her family is working as berry pickers. We hear of her life but also that of her brother who was the last person to see her. Incredibly moving. A 5 star read for me. Read this for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (5/5 read)

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida - I don't really like cats. I am more of a dog person, but I don't mind reading about cats in books, particularly in Japanese books where there is often a twist in the tail (see what I did there?).  I read this one for the Goodreads Spring Challenge. (4/5 read)

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida - I think that you might not quite understand what is going on here unless you read the first book in the series. The third book comes out soon and I will be reading it! Both of these books count for the Books in Translation and Speccy Fic Challenge. The translator for both books was E (4/5 read)

Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett - I borrowed this book at least 10 years ago and so when my rerad on a theme book club had a book you borrowed from someone as the theme, it was finally time to read it. Set in Tasmania, it looks at a family whose mother has died and how that event has impacted the father and three sons. I really enjoyed this one and will more from this author, eventually. This is an Aussie author and the book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (4.5/5 read)

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - I have loved Kate Quinn's historical fiction novels. This one is a complete change in direction. It is set in the Boston Library where a young woman find the way to live inside books. It was good, but not as good as the historical fiction. Will be interested to see where Kate Quinn goes next. This book counts for the Speccy Fic Challenge, Bookish Books and New Release Challenges (4/5 read)

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan - This was another book club read. This time the theme was Mothers and Daughters. I haven't read Amy Tan for many, many years and I liked this one a lot. It counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss - I have met Australian author Anita Heiss a number of times and really like her. She is smart, opinionated, and passionate about her indigenous identity. These traits showed in the characters in this book but I didn't really connect with the story as well as I would have liked. This qualifies for the New Release challenge(3.5/5 read)

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - I feel like Ariel Lawhon is an author I should have read before now, but I haven't. I will read more from her now. I really liked that this book was based on the life of a midwife who lived in the 1800s, and tells the story of what happens in a small town when a body is found trapped under the ice in the frozen river. I read this for the Goodreads Spring Challenge and for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Even though this is a short review, this book counts as a Big Book of Summer at 448 pages long. (4/5 read)

The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier - This is a book that I read for a recent book club retreat that I attended. This book was set on Kangaroo Island and features a newbie police officer who is pulled into a murder investigation at a luxurious house on the island. I liked it. It isn't my normal genre but that's one of the good things about book clubs right? This counts for the New Release Challenge and was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter.  (3.5/5 read)

Phew! I feel a bit caught up now! 

Have you read any of these books? 

This week....

I'm reading

I had to do some last minute reading for the Rachael John's Book Club Retreat weekend in the last week. 

First, I had to read The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson which is a historical fiction novel about two women who live in the remote gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in the late 1800s. One of the women is a young Christian woman and the other is a jaded madam. It was a fun read.

Then I read The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier, which I only finished with a couple of hours spare before the discussion!

Both of these books are on my 20 Books of Winter list, as is The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick. This book was on the list as I didn't get to it last year so I started it as soon as I could and I have made some good progress so far.

I did intend to start my Classics Spin read next but then I realised that I can't extend one of my library books, so needed to start that instead. That book was We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida. This is a pretty quick read though and I am now maybe 2/3 of the way through even though I only started it this morning. 

I'm watching


Not much really!

Life


This weekend was the annual Rachael John's Book Club Retreat weekend. This year it was held in a regional city which is about an hour away from me, Geelong. It was another great event where you get to meet up with other book lovers, talk books all weekend, hang out with authors and generally have a great time. I am planning to write something more about this later this week so I will just say it was a lot of fun! I have already booked my ticket for next year!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Authors I Am Looking Forward to Meeting at the Rachael Johns Book Club Retreat This Weekend

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Weekend Cooking: Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama

Thoughts on War and Peace

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Top Ten Tuesdays: 20 Books of Winter (part 2)

  Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters. However, I am following on from last week's post and giving you the second part of my 20 Books of Winter list.

Here are the second group of ten books that I am intending to read before the end of August.

The Little Porto Book Club by Rebecca Raisin - I really enjoy this author's books. I already had it on my list as a review book but now I am going to be on the blog tour for it in July.

The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson - I am attending the Rachel John's Bookclub Readers Retreat in June and this is one of the two book club reads. 

The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier - This is the second book club read

The Secret Dressmaker by Jenny O'Brien - This is a blog tour read for July

The Nile Cruise by Caroline James - Another July blog tour read

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak - This is a library book that I have borrowed a couple of times now. Hopefully I will read it this time!

First Time Caller by B K Borison - I have really enjoyed the two B K Borisin books I have read so I am looking forward to this one!

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood - This is a historical fiction novel that has had good reviews since it's been released

Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson - This will be a book I read for the Goodreads challenge

Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliott - This is my Classics Spin selection